Body of second hiker found near Lake Tahoe

LAKE TAHOE

Searchers on Saturday found the body of a 78-year-old hiker who went missing while camping with a companion west of Emerald Bay near Lake Tahoe.

Jerome Smith of Lincoln (Placer County) appears to have died after falling, according to the El Dorado County Sheriff's Office. Officials had found his companion, Thomas Hylton, 70, deceased at their camping site on Friday. Authorities said they think Smith fell while trying to get help for Hylton, who also resided in Lincoln.

Smith's body was found near the steep shores of Eagle Lake in the Desolation Wilderness Area, according to a statement on the sheriff's Web site.

The men's families reported the two men overdue on Thursday, prompting a search on foot and by helicopter involving 75 people from the sheriff's office, U.S. Forest Service and California Highway Patrol.